


Stupid Compassion

by ImmortalCoelacanth



Series: A Series of Stupid Decisions [3]
Category: Bendy and the Ink Machine
Genre: Bendy Redemption Arc?, It's a Sequel!, Mentions of PTSD?, More stupid decisions are made, Naomi is too nice for her own good
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-27
Updated: 2017-12-27
Packaged: 2019-02-22 14:53:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,828
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13169259
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ImmortalCoelacanth/pseuds/ImmortalCoelacanth
Summary: Lex had always warned her that her overly compassionate nature would get her into trouble someday. Now, standing in front of the abandoned studio that had started it all, ready to talk to the ink demon that had tried to kill her best friend multiple times, Naomi wondered if she was right. (Sequel to The Stupid Decision).





	Stupid Compassion

**Author's Note:**

> Here we are with the sequel to The Stupid Decision, Stupid Compassion, so if you haven’t read the first story please do or you’ll be super lost!
> 
> Anyways, who wants some lovely exposition? We’re starting this fic off with some background info on the OCs and how they all met. Remember that I do have the character descriptions available in my other bio so if you’ve forgotten what the characters look like you can always check there using this link: https://www.fanfiction.net/u/9050062/ImmortalCoelacanth 
> 
> The next chapter will focus on the actual beginning of the story!
> 
> I have also updated my formatting so everything looks a bit neater :3

_September, 2008_

_Naomi ran around the schoolyard, looking for the new student. She was in the third grade, but this new person was in the fourth grade. She knew it was unusual for students from different grade to talk to each other, but she wanted to see the new person!_

_Besides, it might be a bit tough for them to make friends, so Naomi wanted to help them! Friends were awesome!_

_Her soft orange dress was tousled in the wind as she ran towards where she thought the new person would be. The playground was the best! They had to be there! She found Tyler and talked to him. No one had seen the new kid here, so Naomi thanked him, just like her mom told her, and continued looking._

_She checked the field, the entrance to the yard, and even the fences that separated the school from the street. No one had seen the new kid anywhere! It was like they had disappeared!_

_Naomi pouted and for a moment considered giving up until she heard shouts nearby. She quickly ran over to them, making sure not to trip and ruin her dress. As she got closer she realized who was screaming._

_Three figures rushed past her in the opposite direction, confirming what she had originally thought. It was Tara Hemsworth and her "friends", all spoiled meanies who bullied whoever they could!_

_A couple days ago Tara had tried to destroy her favourite sketchbook, a green one with stickers all over it, by flushing it down the toilets. Luckily a teacher had caught her with it before she managed to get to the bathroom, but she had pouted and tried to fight the teacher the moment she was caught._

_Tara was a bully, and Naomi was a bit surprised she was running away for once. Maybe it was because of the new student...?_

_Encouraged by her new idea, Naomi ran around the large board that kids loved to draw on, she faintly spotted the heart she had made the other day, and found someone sitting on the other side, facing away from the school._

_Naomi was pretty sure they were a girl, a tomboy like Lyra. She was pretty pale, had long, messy brown hair, and her clothes were also a bit ruffled. Concern immediately flooded the girl. It would not be the first time Tara had hit someone._

" _Are you okay?"_

_The girl snapped her head towards her, and Naomi froze at the intense stare. The girl's eyes were a very intense green colour. They were a rich shade of green, Naomi remembered having a pencil crayon that colour but she could not remember what it was called. Shamrock possibly?_

_Naomi continued to stare at the girl. She was not answering her question and Naomi was getting a bit worried. "Uh, are you ok-"_

" _I heard you the first time, I'm fine."_

_Naomi blinked at the answer. Well, her voice was a bit more,_ serious _, then the girl thought it would be. "Oh, okay." A grin appeared on Naomi's face as she remembered what she was there for._

" _Sooooo, are you the new student?"_

_The girl looked a bit wary before answering. "Yeah."_

" _...So, what's your name?" The new girl looked a bit irritated at her constant attempts at getting her to talk, but Naomi did not mind. She had a mission and she would complete it!_

" _I'm Lex."_

" _I'm Naomi, it's nice to meet you!" Naomi held out a hand for Lex to shake with, just like her mother taught her! Lex only stared at the offered hand. Naomi's smile fell a bit, but she came up with a plan._

_Naomi hesitantly walked forward and picked up Lex's left hand, she placed it in her right and shook it, smiling the entire time. Lex seemed a bit confused but allowed the younger girl to shake her hand._

_Naomi let Lex's hand go and stood there, unsure of what to do now. She could offer to draw a picture of Lex, which usually made some of the other kids pretty happy, but she looked so stiff and irritated. That would not do._

_Naomi sat down on the ground, ignoring the surprised look on Lex's face. "Hey, don't do that! You'll ruin your dress!" Naomi jumped a bit at the shout and looked into Lex's intense gaze._

_No wonder Tara had run away._

" _It's fine." Naomi said with a hum as she scooted a bit closer without Lex noticing. "Besides, I want to keep you company!" Lex looked more confused as she gazed at the girl sitting beside her._

" _You sure you're not just here to bug me like those other brats?" Naomi gasped._

" _You can't call them a bad name! It's not good!" She cried out, flailing her arms a bit as she spoke. Her mother had always told her it was rude to call people names! Granted she occasionally heard her mother calling her boss "stupid", but still..._

_Lex looked a bit amused at Naomi's small freak out. "Oh please, 'brat' isn't a bad name." She paused, a mischievous grin appearing on her face. "Now_ asshole _is a bad name!" Naomi gasped again and continued flailing her arms._

" _Noooooo, you can't say such bad names!" Naomi paused when she heard Lex let out a sharp bark of laughter and a bit of a grin formed on her face. The grin quickly faded and Lex looked away from Naomi._

_They sat together in silence, Naomi not sure of what to do now and Lex feeling extremely awkward. Neither of them really knew what to do in this kind of situation, and it was beginning to feel a bit tense between the two._

_Naomi needed to do_ something _to cheer Lex up!_

" _Tara's a butt face!" She blurted out. Naomi promptly slammed a hand over her mouth and looked over at Lex. The girl had a massive smile on her face that continued to grow as she noticed Naomi looking at her._

" _Oh, we don't call people bad names now, do we?" There was a playful look in Lex's eyes and Naomi realized the girl was teasing her._

_Naomi huffed and crossed her arms. "Well, Tara_ is _a butt face." She muttered. "She keeps trying to ruin my sketches!" Lex frowned._

" _Well don't worry then, come find me the next time she tries it and I'll take care of her."_

_True to her word the very next day Naomi had run to Lex with Tara chasing her. The older child had simply glared at the pathetic bully, making Tara squeal and run away, screaming for a teacher._

_Naomi smiled from behind Lex, it looked like she had actually become friends with the silent, antisocial girl. She wrapped her arms around Lex, giving her a hug, ignoring how the girl stiffened then relaxed. As a teacher walked back with a smirking Tara, Naomi could only think one thing._

This is the start of a wonderful friendship!

_And what a wonderful friendship it had turned out to be._

**xxxxxxxxxx**

_November, 2011_

_A lone boy sat at one of the several round tables in the large room. The room itself was rectangular with two entrances, and was lined with shelves that contained hundreds of different books. The tables were clustered around the center of the room and the boy sat at the one directly in the middle._

_Anthony, "Andy" Marks sat in the silent library, listening to the other students run around outside as he read. The book he had chosen to read that day was a personal favourite of his that focused on music composition. As he flipped to a new page, he cautiously wiped each edge of the page with a sanitized napkin, removing any oily stains that might have been on it._

_The boy had long since realized his peers were_ filthy _and rarely cared about the condition they left the books in. He usually helped the librarian clean up at the end of the day. In return she had allowed Andy to spend as much time as he wanted in the library, without supervision!_

_Andy loved the silence of the library, so he had spent every lunch hour sitting at the exact same spot reading and basking in the calming aura of the book filled room. He sighed, nudged his glasses back up onto the bridge of his nose, and kept reading._

_He had been in the room for about ten minutes before he heard the sound of the door opening. Andy, believing that the librarian had returned from her lunch hour, did not bother to check to see who had entered._

" _So Shen, what's the book you're looking for again?"  
_

_Andy's head snapped up at the voice and he found himself staring at two students. The one who had spoken, a boy, had blond hair tied back in a ponytail. His blue eyes scanned the shelves until they landed on Andy, who was trying to hide behind his book._

_The boy grinned, lifted a hand, and waved at Andy. "Hey dude!" He shouted, his voice ringing in the silent library and making Andy visibly cringe at the noise._

_The boy's companion, a girl of Chinese descent, smacked him on the shoulder, making him yelp. The girl was shorter than her friend and had short, straight black hair that went down to her shoulders. Her eyes were narrowed in irritation and Andy had the feeling that upsetting her might not be the best idea._

_He noticed, with only a smidge of irritation, that both students were taller than him._

I will never get taller. _He noted with a sad sigh. He was drawn out of his thoughts when he heard the boy start talking, or complaining, to his companion._

" _Shen, what was that for?!" He cried out as he rubbed his shoulder. The now identified Shen level a glare at him, silencing the boy once again._

" _Drew you're being rude, apologize to him right now." Shen pointed at Andy._

_Drew and Shen, Andy had not heard these names before so perhaps they were in some of the other classes? Or they might be older students? He just hoped they would leave soon so he could get back to reading._

" _Uh, sorry about the noise dude." The one named Drew said, one hand messing with his pony tail and a sheepish expression on his face. Andy sighed and placed his book down. Perhaps if he helped them they would leave?_

" _It is alright, now I believe you said you were searching for something?"_

_The duo looked a little bit shocked at the question. Shen quickly recovered and responded. "Yeah, I need to find some book titled 'Muscles, Joints, and Everything Between' for my science project."_

_When Andy did not say anything, the girl continued speaking._

" _I need to draw a somewhat anatomically accurate diagram of a part of the human body, so I decided to do the knee, but I need this book in order to draw it, since we can't use the computers to look anything up."_

_She was definitely in one of the older classes then, either seventh or eighth grade. Andy knew they were focusing on electricity, space, and molecules in his science class._

" _I shall help you search for this book." Andy stated, gently placing his own text on the table before standing up to help the duo. Together they searched the science section, located on the opposite end of the room._

_But they found nothing._

" _Awww, it's gotta be here somewhere!" Drew whined as he double checked a shelf for the book._

_Shen sighed and slumped down on the floor, disappointment clearly written on her face. "I guess I'll have to go to the public library and look there."_

_Andy frowned. The Hathbrow Library database was extremely out of date and it would be a miracle if Shen managed to find the book she was looking for there! The duo were nowhere near as bad as his classmates and were actually very nice, perhaps he could help them..._

" _You said you wanted to draw a diagram of the knee joint, correct?" Shen nodded._

" _I will look in the library at my house and see if I can find something that will help you if I cannot find the book you were originally looking for."_

" _Wow, that'd be amazing, thank you!" Shen grinned in thanks._

_The next day Andy brought the book with him to school and patiently waited in the library at lunch. Just like the day before Shen and Drew showed up several minutes into the lunch period. Shen looked nervous, but the expression fell off her face once she noticed the book in Andy's hand._

" _Thank you so much." She said, a warm grin on her face. Andy hesitantly smiled back and passed the book over, careful to not accidentally touch Shen's hand._

" _Please give that back to me after you have completed your assignment, I do not wish to get in trouble if someone notices that it is missing."_

_At the end of the day while Andy was waiting for his chauffer, a familiar voice shouted his name. He spun around, nearly making his glasses fall off his face, and found himself looking at Drew. The taller boy had a huge grin on his face as he jogged up to Andy._

" _Yo dude, thanks again for getting Shen that book!"_

" _You are welcome." Andy muttered, gazing to the ground. Why on Earth was Drew still talking to him after he had helped Shen?! He had expected them to leave him alone, not continue speaking to him!_

" _So, uh, you waiting for something?" Drew asked as he gazed around the busy parking lot._

" _Yes, my chauffer, but he appears to be running a bit late."_

" _Oh dude! How about I wait here with you then so you don't get lonely?" Drew would wait with him... so he did not get lonely?_

" _But, why?"_

" _Cause you're my new friend!" Drew cheerily replied as he took a seat on the curb of the parking lot._

_F... friend?_

_Noticing the confused and stunned expression on Andy's face, Drew continued talking._

" _You were nice enough to help Shen even after I was super loud, you didn't get angry when we bothered you, and even now you didn't say no when I asked to hang out!" He cheerfully said._

_Andy blinked, still confused by the entire situation. Was making friends truly that simple? Just behaving well towards each other and continuing such kind behavior was enough to make something as important as a friendship?_

_But then why had being nice never worked when he tried to make friends, he always ended up alone..._

" _HEY SHEN, OVER HERE!" Drew suddenly hollered, waving his arms a bit. Andy cringed at the noise, but turned his attention over to the girl that was walking towards them. It was Shen._

_A soft smile was present on her face as she looked at Drew and Andy. "Hey you guys." She called back, lifting a hand to wave._

" _Hello again." Andy mumbled, still surprised by their sudden appearance. The surprise faded once he noticed Shen pulling a familiar book out of her bag. Of course, they had only shown up because Shen needed to return his book, then they would leave._

… _Right?_

" _Here you go Andy, and thanks again for letting me borrow it." Shen said as the passed the book back. Andy picked it up, once again carefully avoiding the girl's hands, and looked it over for any damage._

_The book appeared to be completely untouched. No damage was present, there were no stains on the pages nor where the pages wrinkled and folded. Andy smiled softly._

" _You are welcome." He replied after carefully placing the book in his bag._

_Silence covered the trio for a moment before Drew decided to break it by asking Andy questions about his life, hobbies, and interests. It had stunned the boy, he had assumed the two friends would leave him alone after Shen returned the book, but clearly that was not the case._

_Shen occasionally joined in, either commenting about something or asking her own questions, and Andy felt himself beginning to relax. It was one of the few conversations he had where no one had any malicious intentions, like his parents. Shen and Drew wanted to talk to him,_ because _they wanted to, not to hurt or isolate him._

_It was extremely refreshing._

_Shen and Drew were curious about him, and in return Andy asked some questions of his own. What were their families like? What were their favourite subjects? Did they play an instrument? Did they know how to ride a bike?_

_Andy_ really _wanted to learn how to ride a bike!_

_Several days followed in this pattern, with Shen and Drew meeting up with Andy at the end of the day and chatting with him until his chauffer arrived. Eventually it got to the point where Andy told his father he no longer needed the escort and would instead make his way home with his new friends._

_His father was initially against it, as he believed that using any other method of getting to places was "not proper" for his family, but he eventually agreed._

_And the words he said would haunt Andy for a very, very long time._

"Who knows, perhaps these new  _friends_  of yours will be able to fix whatever is wrong with you, Anthony."

_The trio bonded during this time, spending much of their time either chatting or joking. Andy learn much about his two new friends, Shen with her dreams of being a physiotherapist and helping people who had gotten into life threatening accidents, and Drew with his hopes of opening a garden center one day. And in turn the two friends learned much about Andy._

_How he was treated growing up, why no one ever spoke to him, his fears, his pain, and sorrows. Instead of being met with painful remarks or insults, Shen and Drew comforted him, helped him lift the heavy burden his family had placed on him._

_Perhaps this was what his uncle had spoken of? Friends took care of each other and helped when they could. Shen and Drew were his friends, and they were very important to him. His uncle had mentioned special names friends would give each other to show how much they cared, nicknames._

_Shen and Drew were very dear to him, and Andy wanted to express this. From now on they would be his dear She-Shen, and dear Drew-Drew. His first, and only, friends._

**xxxxxxxxxx**

_September, 2014_

_This was a bad idea. It was a horrible, stupid idea, but it was the best one Andy had._

_Since the year had started, his first year of high school of course, he had been faced with_ constant _bullying. He had absolutely no idea how to handle it and since both dear She-Shen and dear Drew-Drew with a year ahead of him he knew_ no one _in his classes._

_It was horrible._

_But Andy was not one to be deterred! He had kept his smile on his face and continued to work hard, not letting his friends know what was going on. He did not want them to worry about him, especially since they both had pretty tough teachers._

_However, he was a bit concerned since the bullying seemed to have gotten even worse..._

_This was why Andy had decided to try something a bit different. He had extended an invitation to meet up with his tormentors at lunch to see if they could work something out. Now he had made many dumb choices at this point._

_Agreeing to meet his tormentors in one of the more silent areas of the school was a dumb decision, not telling dear She-Shen or Drew-Drew where he was going was an even worse decision, but the worst choice he made had to have been_ trusting _his bullies._

_He had been pinned against the wall by the group of three boys, each one taller than him by a significant margin. Andy could feel the heat rising in his face, the outcome of his decision weighing on him as he tried to figure a way out of this horrible situation before his mind decided to "freak out" on him._

_The_ touching _certainly was not helping either._

" _S-surely you could move back a little bit, j-just to give me more space." The boy stuttered out, tripping over his words. The trio around him said nothing as their leader got a bit closer, making him panic just a bit more._

" _What're you gonna do about it you fucking faggot?" The boy hissed at Andy. Andy pressed himself further back against the wall to try and create some space, but the other boys only crept closer._

" _You ain't got shit to say do you, you stupid fucking autistic spaz!" Andy winced at the name, which only egged his tormentors on._

_He yelped when a hand grasped his shirt and lifted him up. Andy could_ feel _the fingers burning into his skin and he wanted nothing more than to rip them off and try to scrub the sensations out of his flesh._

Let go, let go, please let go,  _pleaseletmego-_

_All those thoughts were wiped from Andy's mind when the boy punched him. The hit landed directly on his nose and knocked his glasses off his face. Andy yelled in pain, tears gathering in his eyes as his nose burned not just from the hit but from the_ touching _._

_Through his blurry gaze he could see the boy lifting his fist once again and he could hear the other two cheering him on. Andy whimpered and braced for the hit, too shocked to do anything else._

_Then a loud roar tore its way through the air._

" _BACK THE FUCK UP BUTTERCUP!"_

_And with that shout, a fist, this one somehow much more structured than that of his tormentor's, landed directly on the face of the boy who was holding Andy. He dropped to the ground, losing his grip on Andy in the process, his nose was crooked and blood leaked out of it._

_The other two boys both cursed and ran away from Andy and his savior. He looked up from his spot on the floor and caught sight of the blurry outline of the person responsible for saving him._

_She was tall, with wild brown hair and fierce green eyes. The girl looked down at him for a moment, eyes scanning over his injuries with a massive scowl on her face, before she turned and shouted back down the hall she had appeared from._

" _Naomi, you take care of this kid! I've gotta hunt down some sacks of shit!" And with that she ran off._

_Not long after the girl disappeared from his view, another showed up. This one was shorter than his savior, nearly the same height as him. She crouched down, allowing Andy to catch a glimpse of her warm brown eyes that were filled with worry._

This must be Naomi. _Andy thought to himself._

_His glasses were handed back to him, which Andy gratefully put on. When he looked back up he cringed back from the girl's hand that was stretched out towards him. She looked a bit confused for a moment before understanding bloomed in her eyes._

" _You don't like being touched, right?" Naomi asked, her voice soft and gentle, which helped Andy relax just a bit more._

" _Y-yes, but how do you know..." He trailed off as he realized he had seen this person before. Naomi Williams was in three of his classes, and she had clearly picked up on some of his habits. Before he could continue speaking, a small packet of, thankfully unopened, tissues was held out to him._

" _Here, you can use this to clean off if you want, but it would probably be a good idea to get you down to the office to get your nose checked out." Naomi said with a small smile on her face. Andy quickly accepted the packet, tore it open, and began cleaning his face._

" _Thank you very much, Ms. Williams." He muttered, voice muffled from the tissue._

_Not long after Andy had finished cleaning his face and Naomi had taken care of the unconscious bully, turning him on his side so the blood did not leak down his throat, loud footsteps echoed down the hall. Andy tensed, expecting another fight, but the warm smile on Naomi's face calmed him down._

" _Don't worry that's just Lex. She's probably still angry."_

_No, angry was not the word Andy would have used to describe this "Lex" the moment he caught sight of her. Furious, violent, and aggressive were_ far _more accurate when describing the expression on her face._

" _Are you fucking stupid or something?!" Lex snarled, rounding on Andy with a furious glare on her face once she reached the duo. He tried to respond, but the taller girl kept talking._

" _Those shitheads have been called down to the office_ dozens _of times already, and the year's barely started! And why the hell did you decide to talk to them_ here _of all places?!" Andy stuttered, but before he could respond a very familiar, and angry, shout ripped its way through the tense air._

" _GET AWAY FROM HIM!" Was that_ Shen?!

_Indeed, the figure running down the hall was without a doubt his dear She-Shen, with dear Drew-Drew following close behind. When had they managed to figure out where he was? Dear She-Shen looked_ furious _, almost matching the look on Lex's face, while dear Drew-Drew only looked concerned._

_Once the duo reach him they split up, dear She-Shen standing in front of Lex, thus making her back away from him, and dear Drew-Drew crouched down in front of him. "Yo Andy, how're you doing dude?"_

" _I am fine." He said, taking the tissue away from his nose since it was no longer bleeding. The concerned look on dear Drew-Drew faded and was replaced by one of irritation._

_Oh no._

" _Good, and if you ever do that again I'm gonna handcuff you to me so I'll never lose track of you again, got it?" Andy nodded, never wanting to relieve that experience again. The boy in front of him sighed in relief and looked up towards Naomi._

" _Thanks for looking after him." Drew said, a faint smile on his face. Naomi grinned in response._

" _You should be thanking Lex, she's the one who got those jerks off him." She said, frowning slightly in remembrance of the terrible scene she had come across. While the majority of the school behaved, there were still some not so nice characters that roamed the halls._

_Which was usually why Lex stuck to the more abandoned hallways, in case anyone needed her help. In Lex's words, she "was an asshole, not heartless"._

_Drew looked over to the other two girls who were very much in each other's faces and looked seconds away from fighting, their voices slowly getting louder as they argued. "Huh, I guess I better make sure Shen doesn't hurt her then."_

_Naomi snorted. "As much as I hate to say it, your friend is probably the one that's in the most danger, but it's best to break them up."_

_The trio walked over towards Shen and Lex. The two were standing barely an inch away from each other, Lex using her height to her advantage as she stood taller than Shen, hands clenched to her sides. Shen on the other hand had one of her feet placed behind her, ready to deliver a devastating kick to Lex's face if she made a wrong move. Curses and insults flew between them, Shen clearly being the more aggressive of the two._

" _You bitch, how dare you call him-"_

" _Calm your tits! Besides if it wasn't for me he would have gotten the crap beat out of him!"_

" _So you just decide to suddenly start verbally_ harassing _him for no reason then?!"_

" _HARASSING?! If he decides to be_ stupid  _then I have the right to call him out for it! I'll show you-"_

" _Bring it!"_

_Before Drew or Naomi could even step forward and try to get rid of the tension in the air, Andy made his move._

" _Thank you so much, dear Lexie!" Andy blurted out, bowing to the taller student in a show of thanks. This distracted both Shen and Lex who were staring at Andy with an expression of shock on both their faces._

" _What the fuck did you just call me?" The newly dubbed "Lexie" blurted out. Unfortunately for her Andy was too busy backing up to respond to her question. He needed to get his friends out of this situation now, before dear She-Shen did something she would regret._

" _I, I owe you for protecting me from harm, dear Lexie, but I am afraid that I must return to my locker since the lunch period is almost over." He honestly wished to see both Naomi and Lex again, they seemed like nice people, but he was a bit more worried about making sure another fight did not break out._

_Another time then, Andy promised himself. He would seek them out another time, with or without dear She-Shen and dear Drew-Drew._

_As if sensing his train of thought, Andy's friends also began to back away, a nervous smile appearing on Drew's face as he lifted a hand to wave at the other two girls. "So, uh, it was nice meeting you guys and we'll see you around later?"_

_With that the trio swiftly walked away, Shen scowling, Andy smiling, and Drew just a bit scared of Lex. He hoped she would not notice that they were in the same English and History class._

" _WAIT! WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN BY_ LEXIE _?!" The confused shout echoed behind them, followed by Naomi's laughter, but no one answered._

_It would be a few days until Andy had the chance to properly interact with Lex again. He spoke to Naomi fairly often during the breaks between classes, since they sat nowhere near each other, and she gained the nickname of dear Naomi-mi._

_The first time he was able to properly interact with Lex_ also _took place during one of the breaks between classes. Andy had been walking to his next class, technological studies, when an unfortunately familiar trio of students approached him._

_It was the exact same group of bullies that had targeted him several days ago. Their leader's face, especially his nose, was badly bruised, no doubt damaged from dear Lexie's punch._

_Andy's own face was only faintly bruised, allowing him to hide the damage from his family. The last thing he wanted was his father suing some family into oblivion..._

_The leader sneered once he caught sight of him and briskly walked forward, his minions trailing behind him. The boy paled and looked around for anyone who might help him, but he had no such luck._

_He was facing one end of the hallway, with the rest of the hall and the tech wing behind him. If only he was a bit more athletic, then he could try to make a break for it!_

" _You got lucky you stupid, autistic retard." Andy winced. "If that crazy bitch hadn't been there to help you I would have-"_

" _You would have what?" A cool, familiar feminine voice asked. Andy spun around, a warm smile on his face._

_It was dear Lexie!_

" _Dear Lexie, it is so wonderful to see you again!" Andy said, a warm smile on his face. Dear Lexie simply looked down at him before returning her gaze to his would-be tormentors. Her eyes seemed to burn with a hidden rage._

" _I'll ask you one more time._ What _the fuck do you think you're doing?" When the trio did not answer once again, Lex let out a growl and felt her patience snap._

" _Scram!" She slammed her shoe down on the floor with her shout, scaring off the bullies. Andy winced at the noise, but still felt grateful for the help. He would rather deal with loud noises then getting punched in the face, again._

" _Ignore them, they're just jealous." He blinked and spun around, facing Lex._

" _What do you mean?" She rolled her eyes but continued talking._

" _They're jealous of you, and I don't mean just your money." She said, adding in the last part when she noticed Andy open his mouth. When the boy closed it and looked at her, she continued speaking._

" _Naomi's talked about you a bunch, and from what I understand you're super smart, and she's not one to lie about stuff like that." Andy felt his face blush at the sincere compliment._

" _Thank you very much, dear Lexie."_

" _And from what she told me that name you're calling me means that you consider me to be your friend, right?" Andy nodded, making Lex snort._

" _You've got shit taste in friends. I'm an idiot with the social grace of a fat pigeon that's just been run over by a bus!"_

" _You, you seem to have a very low opinion of yourself, dear Lexie." Andy said, blinking slightly from the shock of the girl's statement. He did not believe that one bit, granted he had not spoken to her for quite that long, but so what if she was awkward?!_

_He had been like that too before dear She-Shen and dear Drew-Drew got close to him, so he was certain the same would apply for dear Lexie!_

" _I was joking." Lex said, tone dry. "But I'm shit at talking to people, so sorry if I'm weird or anything."_

" _Does this mean you accept my friendship?" Andy asked, a hint of excitement in his voice._

_Lex sighed and rolled her shoulders. "Sure, now we should get to class before-"_

" _HEY, WHAT ARE YOU TWO DOING OVER THERE!?" Lex groaned as she heard the hall monitor shout from down the hallway. Class had started several minutes ago and the punishments for students that lingered in the halls were_ strict _._

" _Fuck my life." She muttered as the staff member got closer. Of course the fact that she was a "problem student" would not help matters at all. Dammit, if only those idiots had not gone after Andy!_

" _It is a pleasure to see you, sir, but I am afraid that the students you are looking for ran off that way." Andy said, casually gesturing towards where the trio of bullies had run away. Lex blinked and stared at the younger student. What on earth was he doing?_

" _What do you mean?"_

" _The students who tried to_ assault _me, again." Andy cheerfully replied, noticing the wall the hall monitor's face paled. All the staff and a large portion of the students knew who he was, and more importantly who his_ family _was. He hated using his family's influence to get out of trouble, but there were more important issues than he and dear Lexie getting yelled at._

_Like properly punishing those who had hurt him._

_The hall monitor nodded, face still pale, and briskly made his way down the other hall Andy had pointed to. "You two get back to class! Tell your teachers what happened and if they need to they can call the office!"_

_The duo nodded, but the hall monitor did not notice as he swiftly disappeared, in search of the students Andy had spoken about._

" _Damn man, thanks for the save." Lex muttered with a hint of a grin on her face._

_Andy smiled at her. "You are welcome dear Lexie, now I believe we should both get to our classes." They were both almost ten minutes late to their current class, and while that typically would have made Andy extremely anxious, he felt calm in dear Lexie's presence. Besides, there was something else he needed to ask._

" _Is it alright if I see you and dear Naomi-mi again when school ends?" Lex shrugged._

" _Sure, just tell me where." Andy began describing when he, dear She-Shen, and dear Drew-Drew met after school ended. It was an area near the parking lot where the bike rack was since they all rode their bikes to and from school._

_With that the duo parted ways, each going to their respective classes._

_When Andy finally arrived at his class and told the teacher what had happened, he was not surprised to hear the school intercom turn on and smiled when the announcement played. It looked like his tormentors would be properly punished this time._

_At the end of the day Andy, Shen, Drew, Naomi, and Lex all met up for the second time. Drew and Lex were both nervous, just for different reasons, Shen was irritated at having to see Lex once again, even though they shared a math class, but Naomi and Andy were both happy to see everyone again._

_Slowly the group of five began to chat, each person sticking to those that they were already friends with, but with some helpful nudging from Naomi and Andy, they began to spread out and talk to different people._

_Lex and Drew were the first pair to begin chatting as they both had similar interests, and surprisingly enough already somewhat knew each other. They had both played multiple matches of Mario Kart 8 online, with Drew going by DMan827 and Lex by AgroGal. Once they realized this any tension faded away and was replaced by friendly banter and taunting as they discussed their most recent races._

_Shen, Andy, and Naomi were also chatting off to the side with Shen asking Naomi multiple questions about Lex. It seemed as though she had not yet let go of what she had heard in the hallway which Naomi understood. In return Naomi did her best to reassure Shen that Lex was not some horrible monster who would beat the shit out of Andy if he pissed her off. Lex was nice._

_And only sometimes an asshole._

_After some time Shen and Lex, finally, faced each other. At first Drew was worried that the duo would try to fight once again, but Andy reassured him. The boy knew that Shen was now feeling better about Lex, especially after talking to Naomi, but she still had not fully forgiven the girl._

_Lex stared down at Shen. "You were gonna kick me in the face when we first met, weren't you?"_

" _And I saw that you were getting ready to punch me." Shen quipped, her gaze never leaving Lex._

_Lex snorted. "It's easier to block a kick than a punch, any decent fighter knows that." Oooh, Shen felt the scowl form on her face. Those were fighting words._

" _Oh please!" She spat. "As if you could block one of_ my _kicks!" Shen prided herself on the strict control she had over her emotions, but there was something about Lex that made her lose that control, and it pissed her off!_

" _Let's spar then, you vs me. My mom's got padded sparing gear too so we can hit harder. When are you free?" Shen blinked. Lex wanted to_ spar _with her? Why?_

_As if reading Shen's mind, Lex continued speaking. "You look like a tough opponent, you're definitely confident in your skills, so let's see who the better fighter is then!" There was a dorky grin present on Lex's face that Shen and Drew had never seen before, it was strange._

_Contrary to popular belief, Lex rarely enjoyed fighting people and she preferred to spar with them whenever she got the chance._

" _I'm free this Saturday if you wish to spar then." Shen said, still shocked by this change in the usually irritated teen._

" _Cool, it's a plan then!" Lex replied, a small smile on her face. Shen smiled back. Drew thanked whatever gods stopped the duo from fighting each other._

_Andy looked around at his friends who were all chatting and enjoying themselves, a smile present on his own face. Meeting dear Naomi-mi and dear Lexie was_ destined _to happen, he knew it._

_Unfortunately the group of five could not spend that long together, as homework, chores, and a good night's rest called them home, but they promised to meet up every day before and after school._

_And so they did. Through the cool autumn as leaves began to fall from the trees, as winter approached and made the air freeze and ice coat the ground, and into spring, when rain drove the group of friends inside as the bonds that held them together only grew stronger with time._

_Andy, Shen, Drew, Naomi, and Lex. All with different strengths and weaknesses that would be used to build each other up in their time of need. A group of friends who were not just friends, but their own little family._

_And it is with one specific member of this family, Naomi, that our story begins._

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you all so much for reading and I hope you enjoy Stupid Compassion! Please leave a review telling me what you think and if you notice any spelling errors or other issues please point them out so I can fix them :)


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